Fans had started a petition to save the show which had enjoyed relatively strong ratings, and Foxtel has stepped in with the new series to be produced by Seven Productions for the pay-TV network’s SoHo channel.

Foxtel executive director of television, Brian Walsh, said in a statement today: “A Place to Call Home is Australia’s most loved drama series and has captured the hearts of millions of fans across the country. We are proud to partner with the Seven Network on this landmark deal and ensure that audiences can continue to enjoy this beautifully crafted and elegantly produced series for a further two seasons.

“The Seven Network has produced Australian television’s most successful drama series of all time and we are delighted to partner with the highly experienced creative team at Seven, who will now work their magic for Foxtel subscribers.”

The second season of the show failed to bring in the million-plus audiences consistently delivered by the first season of the show. However, Foxtel has been looking to build on its slate of original local drama to supplement the foreign shows from the likes of the BBC and HBO which are more easily pirated by fans.

The network has been on a new subscription drive, recently slashing the price of its packages for subscribers in a bid to increase penetration ahead of the entry to market next year of streaming services like Netflix and StreamCo.

It is understood the series will include the same cast with Marta Dusseldorp, Noni Hazlehurst, Brett Climo and Craig Hall all returning, and is set to screen next year.

Alex Hayes is the editor of Mumbrella. He's been a journalist for more than a decade working on newspapers and websites in the UK and Australia, covering the media and marketing sector for the past four years.

Interesting to see if it will attract any new subscribers. People may write petitions when they got it for free but not be prepared to pay the high subscriptions. Perhaps low brow period soap opera is a new route which could work.